Study: plants most likely to survive climate change bloom earlier

A new study from the University of Bath has revealed that plants
most likely to survive increased temperatures from climate change
are those that are capable of flowering earlier than usual. The
study found that some plants that were exposed to small increases
in temperature blossomed sooner, produced more seeds and increased
in size.

This suggests that global warming could cause a change in the
genetic make-up of plant populations that don't bloom sooner than
others and by observing the changes in flowering time, scientists
can use the plants as an indicator to gauge which flowers will be
more likely to thrive when temperatures increase.

Dr Paula Kover, senior lecturer in the University's Department
of Biology & Biochemistry, explains: "Global temperatures
will increase in the near future and there is much interest in
finding reliable indicators that help us to identify which plant
populations need help to survive climate change and which
populations will be able to cope with it.

"While it has been previously suggested that species that
respond to climate warming by accelerating flowering are more
likely to persist global warming, this is the first empirical
evidence of the fact."

The biologists used the plant species Arabidopsis
thaliana, a small plant that flowers once a year, to carry out
their tests. Additional studies using other species of plant with
different characteristics are expected to confirm their findings
and further aid their understanding of the effect of increased
temperatures on plant yields and fitness.

Uniquely, this study was able to isolate the effect of
temperature from other environmental effects on the plants. By
using warming cables connected to thermostats, the biologists were
able to grow genetically identical plants, side by side, subjecting
them all to a three degree temperature difference.